Small, private and redefining yourself

The Sage Colleges has winnowed its bachelor’s degree programs to 40, from the 104 it offered a few years ago.

The College of Saint Rose is shifting identities, too, from a school primarily known for its strong educational programs to one that also places a strong focus on its business and music programs.

These are signs of how small, private colleges are fine-tuning their focus to carve out a niche that’s attractive to incoming students. Such schools are under increasing pressure to develop programs that set them apart from their competitors as the market they serve faces rising tuition costs and ballooning student debt.

Sage is differentiating itself further with three schools that have separate concentrations on education, health sciences and management, and has sharpened the direction of its graduate school.

Susan Scrimshaw, president, sees the shift as a way for Sage to distinguish itself in specific markets while still maintaining its reputation as a liberal arts institution.

“All of us need to be transforming how we teach to stay relevant,” said Scrimshaw, who in 2009 took the helm at The Sage Colleges, a group of three schools that includes the Russell Sage College for women in Troy, the co-ed Sage Colleges of Albany and Sage Graduate College.

Meanwhile, at Saint Rose in Albany, another kind of significant shift is underway. Five years ago, 25 percent of Saint Rose students were enrolled in its education program. This year, that number is 16 percent. That smaller percentage is no surprise as fewer education jobs are available. But the school also credits its focus on new or expanded programs for some of the shift.

The private Albany college is also investing heavily in its forensic science and psychology, communications and criminal justice programs, all areas that are seeing job growth.

One challenge for Saint Rose is championing some of its newer programs while still maintaining its reputation as a quality institution for educators.

“We certainly don’t want to lose our brand in education. But we very much knew that to hedge our bets, we needed greater balance across our undergraduate programs,” said David Szczerbacki, the school’s president.

Saint Rose enrolls 2,721 full-time students, down from 2,764 a year ago. Some good news: The school’s freshman enrollment held steady this year at 595, when nationally the average freshman enrollment declined.

Those numbers should continue to decline as birth rates drop and eligibility requirements for financial assistance tightens.

Full-time enrollment at Sage, meanwhile, is up slightly, to 1,461 this year, from 1,412 in 2011.

Moody’s has assigned a negative credit outlook to both schools, but the ratings agency has continually projected a bleak future for the entire higher education sector.

A recent report by Moody’s said smaller private schools face more risk than larger research universities because they typically have smaller endowments and struggle more with fundraising, enrollment and revenue diversity.

Despite the lagging economy, Saint Rose has boosted its endowment in the last four years. The school, with an annual budget of $107.7 million, has nearly doubled its endowment since 2008, to $50.2 million from $26 million.

Saint Rose is also aggressively tapping into markets outside the Capital Region. Fifteen years ago, a vast majority of the school’s students were from the Capital Region. Today, 70 percent come from outside the area.

Szczerbacki sees opportunities downstate, particularly on Long Island, and overseas in Vietnam, Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia that value the quality of a U.S. education and the opportunities those experiences afford.

In September, Saint Rose opened its Huether School of Business. The $3.5 million investment offers a heavy concentration of entrepreneurial and leadership training—skills essential for startups—and the school plans to expand some of its education programs into Massachusetts.

“We’re getting the message out that we’re about this full suite of programs,” Szczerbacki said.

Sage Colleges, too, is investing in programs for targeted populations.

Faculty also worked on developing a stronger political science program, and the school this fall began offering an online, at-home degree program for autistic students.

“Those are the kinds of examples that position ourselves more strongly,” said Scrimshaw, the Sage president.

Moody’s analyst Mary Catherine Cooney said that while Sage continues to have a negative credit outlook, the college improved its financial performance in 2011 by adding enrollment, containing expenses and reducing debt.

She pointed also to a “focused and strategically aligned” management team that is building a successful track record and understands the school’s key challenges.

Sage also raised $25 million in gifts since May 2011, hired 60 new faculty in the last three years, reinstituted merit raises and paid off a $10 million loan. The school this year invested $1.05 million in cash in a former National Guard armory to grow its athletic and arts programs, and generate revenue from special events.

“We made dramatic efficiencies. We had been doing lots of outsourcing. But now we have our own roofer, our own HVAC person,” Scrimshaw said. “We saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by doing those kinds of things, and we got our budget in balance.”